UC-NRLF 


ID  14 


set 


if?-, 


SOME    NOTES    UPON 


THE 


INTRODUCTION1 


WOOLEN     MANUFACTURE 


INTO    THE 


UNITED    STATES. 


ROYAL  C.  TAFT. 


PROVIDENCE : 
SIDNEY     S.     RIDER. 

1882. 


• 


This  paper  was  read  before  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society, 
April  18,  1882. 


TWENTY-FIVE  LARGE  PAPKR  COPIES  PRINTED. 


COPYRIGHT,  1882. 


PROVIDENCE   PltKSS   COMPANY,    PKINTKK8. 


PREFACE. 


In  January,  1871,   upon  the   request  of   the 
Rhode  Island  Society  for  the  Encouragement 
>f  Domestic  Industry,"  I  prepared  a  paper  upon 
the  "•  Introduction  of  the  Woolen  Manufacture 
into  the  United  States,"  which  was  published  in 
the  transactions  of  the  Society  for  1870. 

The  origin  of  this  request  was  the  following 
letter  from  Hon.  Horace  Capron,  then  Secretary 
of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C.,  to  a  member 
of  the  Society /viz. : 

"DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE,          ) 
"WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  January  18,  1870.  ) 

"  HON.  JAMES  DEW.  PERRY,  BRISTOL,  R.  I. 

1 '  MY  DEAR  SIR  : —  ....  It  has  occurred  to  me  to  ask 
you  to  refer  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  to  me,  to 
your  Society  for  investigation.  The  Hon.  J.  G.  Dudley,  in 
a  paper  read  before  the  Historical  Society  of  New  York, 
claims  that  the  first  woolen  factory  built  in  the  United  States 


IV  PREFACE. 

was  by  my  father,  Dr.  Setli  Capron,  in  1809,  in  Oriskany, 
Oneida  County,  N.  Y.  Mr.  Seth  Newton  Dexter,  of  that 
state,  on  referring  to  a  letter  written  by  Samuel  Lawrence, 
in  which  he  claims  that  honor  for  Rhode  Island, — a  woolen 
mill  built  in  1813, — says  '  that  Mr.  Lawrence  is  widely  in 
error.  The  first  mill  erected  was  by  Dr.  Seth  Capron,  at 
Oriskany,  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  with  whom  was  associa- 
ted DeWitt  Clinton,  Francis  Bloodgood,  Chancellor  Platt, 
Smith  Thompson,  Stephen  Van  Renselear,  Elisha  Jenkins 
and  others.  Work  was  commenced  in  1809,  during  em- 
bargo times,  in  anticipation  of  an  act  of  incorporation,  which 
was  granted  by  the  legislature  in  1811.' 

"  If  your  Society  should  be  pleased  to  take  up  this  matter 
for  investigation,  I  would  be  gratified  to  learn  the  result,  be- 
cause in  so  important  a  historical  fact,  credit  sliould  be 
awarded  to  whom  it  is  due. 

44  I  am  Sir, 

44  Very  respectfully, 

44  HORACE  CAPRON." 

The  original  paper,  in  order  in  point  of  time 
to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  Society,  was  necessa- 
rily somewhat  hastily  prepared  and  was  slightly 
inaccurate  in  some  minor  details,  and  having 
always  intended  giving  this  matter  further  con- 
sideration, now  in  reviewing  it,  I  am  able  to  give 


PREFACE.  V 

additional  and  accurate  information   respecting 
the  subject  of  the  investigation. 

I  then  reached  the  conclusion  that  Arthur  and 
John  Scholfield,  were  the  first  woolen  manufac- 
turers in  this  country.  Air  subsequent  enquiry 
has  confirmed  the  opinion  then  expressed. 

R.  c.  T. 

PKOVIDENCE,  August,  1882, 


WOOLEN    MANUFACTURE. 


The  necessity  for  the  introduction  into  our 
domestic  economy  of  the  industrial  arts  practiced 
and  fostered  in  Great  Britain,  and  so  important 
to  us  as  a  nation,  became  more  apparent,  and 
found  expression  soon  after  the  close  of  the  war 
of  the  Revolution  ;  the  obstacles  placed  in  the 
way  by  her  adverse  legislation,  but  served  to  stim- 
ulate the  enterprise  of  our  fathers,  who,  having 
secured  their  independence,  were  now  looking  to 
the  promotion  of  those  industries  in  this  country, 
which  would  best  serve  its  interests,  and  render 
it  independent  of  the  old  world.  This  desire  was 
general  throughout  the  country,  but  in  no  sec- 
tion was  a  progressive  spirit  more  manifest  than 
in  New  England.  After  the  close  of  the  war, 
many  enterprises  which  had  been  undertaken 
came  to  an  end,  by  reason  of  foreign  competi- 
tion. 

George  Bancroft,  in  "History  of  the  formation 


Z  LARGE    IMPORTS. 

of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica," says : 

"  The  prospect  of  enormous  gains  tempted 
American  merchants  to  import  in  one  year  more 
than  their  exports  could  pay  for  in  three  ;  while 
factors  of  English  houses,  bringing  over  British 
goods  on  British  account,  jostled  American  mer- 
chants in  their  own  streets." 

u  The  people  had  looked  for  peace  and  pros- 
perity to  come  hand  in  hand,  and  when  hostili- 
ties ceased,  they  ran  into  debt  for  English  goods, 
never  doubting  that  their  wonted  industries 
would  yield  them  the  means  of  payment  as  of 
old.  But  excessive  importations  at  low  prices 
crushed  domestic  manufactures." 

The  heavy  debt  in  which  the  colonies  were 
involved,  the  lack  of  any  sound  financial  system, 
and  the  absence  of  all  laws  regulating  commerce, 
— allowing  our  markets  to  be  filled  to  overflow- 
ing with  the  manufactures  of  Europe, — rendered 
the  prospect  for  American  manufactures  in  the 
future  very  discouraging. 

Almost  the  first  necessity  of  a  people,  is  that 
for  clothing,  therefore  the  domestic  manufacture 
of  cotton  and  woolen  fabrics  was  of  the  utmost 
importance,  and  its  encouragement  and  protec- 
tion received  early  consideration.  As  early  as 


PROTECTIVE    LEGISLATION.  3 

February  3,  1781,  Congress  asked  of  the  states 
as  an  "indispensable  necessity,"  the  power  to  lay 
a  duty  upon  all  imports,  with  no  exemption  ex- 
cept of  wool  cards  and  cotton  cards  and  the  wires 
for  making  them. 

This  first  (though  unsuccessful)  scheme  of 
duties  on  foreign  commerce  sought  to  foster 
American  industry  by  the  free  admission  of  ma- 
terials necessary  to  the  manufacture. 

July  2,  1785,  the  General  Court  of  Massa- 
chusetts passed  an  act  imposing  a  duty  upon 
foreign  manufactures,  with  the  intent  to  encour- 
age and  protect  their  manufacture  at  home. 
This  was  the  first  protective  tariff  passed  in  the 
colonies.  The  legislature  of  Pensylvania  passed 
a  bill,  September  20, 1785,  to  "  protect  the  man- 
ufactures "  of  Pensylvania,  laying  a  duty  upon 
more  than  seventy  articles,  being  only  about  two 
months  behind  Massachusetts. 

The  general  court  of  Massachusetts  appoint- 
ed a  joint  committee,  October  25,  1786,  "  to 
view  any  new  invented  machines  that  are  mak- 
ing within  this  commonwealth,  for  the  purpose 
of  manufacturing  sheep's  and  cotton  wool,  and 
report  what  measures  are  proper  for  the  legis- 
lature to  take  to  encourage  the  same."  And 
upon  the  report  of  this  committee  an  appropria- 
tion of  two  hundred  pounds  was  made. 


4  IMPORTANCE    OF    HOME    MANUFACTURE. 

The  importance  of  home  manufactures  is  thus 
expressed  in  the  Boston  Gazette  in  1788,  viz. : 

"  Until  we  manufacture  more  it  is  absurd  to 
celebrate  the  fourth  of  July  as  the  birth-day  of 
our  independence.  We  are  still  a  dependent 
people  ;  and  what  is  worse,  after  the  blood  and 
treasure  we  have  expended,  we  are  actually  taxed 
by  Great  Britain.  Our  imports  help  to  fill  her 
revenue  and  to  pay  the  interest  of  a  debt  contract- 
ed in  an  attempt  to  enslave  us." 

In  ic  A  Topographical  and  Historical  descrip- 
tion of  Boston,  1794,"  the  writer  says  :  "  I  would 
remark  here,  that  many  artists  who  arrive  among 
us  from  abroad,  are  in  poor  circumstances,  and 
are  unable  to  set  up  manufactures  for  themselves. 
If  such  whose  knowledge  is  competent  to  their 
profession,  were  assisted  by  wealthy  citizens, 
they  might  become  very  beneficial  members  of 
society.  By  such  means  the  various  arts  prac- 
ticed in  Europe,  might  in  .process  of  time  be 
transplanted  to  America." 

"  As  linens  and  woolens  are  very  large  articles 
of  consumption,  and  carry  out  of  the  Common- 
wealth a  large  proportion  of  its  specie,  it  would 
be  well  to  pay  attention  to  fabricating  them 
here." 

tl  Specimens  that  have  been  given  of  linen  and 


IMPERFECT    CARDING.  O 

woolen  cloths  made  here,  demonstrate  that  we 
have  manufacturers  among  us  who  are  well 
skilled  in  making  up  the  materials  ;  and  the  num- 
ber of  them  will  increase  by  i migration  from 
other  countries." 

"  We  are  told  that  in  1667,  a  piece  of  woolen 
cloth  was  never  dyed  or  dressed  in  England  ;  it 
was  improved  by  the  skill  of  foreigners  who 
came  there ;  and  that  in  a  little  more  than  a  cen- 
tury the  product  was  estimated  at  16,800,000 
pounds  sterling,  above  75,000,000  dollars  per 
annum.  Let  us  try  what  can  be  done  in  the 
United  States." 

The  manufacture  of  cotton  goods  had  become 
established,  and  was  a  recognized  industry  in 
1790.  The  manufacture  of  woolens  in  the  im- 
proved manner  practiced  in  Europe,  by  machin- 
ery, had  not  yet  been  inaugurated ;  its  introduc- 
tion, without  following  its  subsequent  develop- 
ment, to  any  great  extent,  will  be  the  object  of 
this  paper. 

The  imperfect  manner  of  carding  wool  by  the 
hand-card,  when  spun  necessarily  made  uneven 
yarn,  for  which  reason  the  cloth  would  be  im- 
perfect, the  different  parts  shrinking  unevenly 
in  the  process  of  finishing.  This  defect  was 
remedied  by  the  adoption  of  the  machine  card- 


b  THE    FIRST    STEP    IN    THE    MANUFACTURE. 

ing,  which  mixed  and  carded  the  wool  so  per- 
fectly that  the  different  parts  of  the  cloth  would 
receive  a  uniform  finish. 

Therefore  the  use  of  the  carding  machine  may 
be  regarded  as  the  initial  point,  the  first  step  in 
the  introduction  of  the  woolen  manufacture 
proper,  or  the  fabrication  by  machinery. 

The  woolen  manufacture  had  made  so  little 
progress  at  the  close  of  the  last  century,  that  no 
contemporary  recorded  history  exists,  the  little 
which  can  be  found  is  largely  traditionary,  writ- 
ten long  afterward  from  the  recollections  of  those 
who  have  now  passed  away.  It  is  fortunate  in 
treating  of  this  subject  at  this  time  that  we  have 
the  living  evidence  of  those,  who  if  not  actors, 
were  witnesses  to  the  introduction  and  of  the 
operation  of  the  first  carding  machine  erected  in 
this  country. 

In  Felt's  History  of  Ipswich,  Mass.,  it  is  stated 
that  the  town  of  Ipswich  granted  land  to  John 
Manning  in  1792,  up'on  which  to  build  a  woolen 
factory,  and  subsequently  made  an  additional 
grant,  and  in  1795,  the  town  confirmed  to  Dr. 
Manning  the  land  under  the  building.  The 
building  erected  was  105  feet  long,  by  32  feet 
wide,  being  two  stories  high,  built  of  wood. 

The  original  design  was  to  make  woolen  goods 


BYFIELD    FACTORY.  7 

and  for  a  few  years,  broadcloths,  blankets  and 
flannels  were  manufactured ;  all  the  work  of 
carding,  spinning  and  weaving  was  performed 
by  hand  labor,  but  not  proving  profitable,  cotton 
manufacture  was  substituted  for  woolen,  and  in 
1800,  operations  entirely  ceased. 

In  Coffin's  History  of  Newbury,  Mass.,  the 
author  states  that,  "in  June,  1794,  the  first  in- 
corporated woolen  factory  in  Massachusetts  was 
erected  at  the  falls  of  the  river  Parker,  in  that 
portion  of  Newbury,  known  as  Bytield  parish. 
Most  of  the  machinery  was  built  in  Newbury- 
port,  by  Messrs.  Standring,  Armstrong  and  Guppy, 
Englishmen.  In  this  year  Benjamin  Greenleaf 
and  others  were  incorporated  as  the  '  Proprie- 
tors of  the  Newburyport  Woolen  Manufactory. ' 
....  The  goods  made  there  were  broadcloths 
and  flannels.  While  the  factory  was  being  erect- 
ed a  portion  of  the  machinery  was  operated  by 
hand" 

In  "  Reminiscences  of  a  "Nonagenarian,"  by  a 
lady  of  Newburyport,  she  writes  :  "  The  year  I 
was  seven  years  old  the  first  incorporated  wool- 
en mill  in  Massachusetts  was  established  at  the 
falls  on  the  river  Parker,  in  the  Parish  of  Byfield, 
in  Newbury.  The  machinery  for  this  factory  was 
made  in  Newburyport,  by  Messrs.  Standring, 


8  BYFIELD    FACTORY. 

Armstrong  and  Guppy,  agents ;  the  Messrs. 
Scholfield  and  most  of  the  operatives  were  Eng- 
lish. The  erection  of  this  mill  created  a  great 
sensation  throughout  the  whole  region.  People 
visited  it  from  far  and  near.  Ten  cents  was 
charged  as  an  admittance  fee.  That  first  winter 
sleighing  parties  came  from  all  the  adjacent 
towns,  and  as  distant  as  Hampstead  and  Derry 
in  New  Hampshire.  Row  after  row  of  sleighs 
passed  over  Crane-neck  hill,  enlivening  the  bright 
cold  days  by  the  joyous  tones  of  their  merry  bells. 
Never  shall  I  forget  the  awe  with  which  I  en- 
tered what  then  appeared  the  vast  and  imposing 
edifice.  The  large  drums  that  carried  the  bands 
on  the  lower  floor,  coupled  with  the  novel  noise 
and  hum,  increased  this  awe,  but  when  I  reached 
the  second  floor,  where  picking,  carding,  spinning 
and  weaving  were  in  process,  my  amazement 
became  complete.  The  machinery,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  looms,  was  driven  by  water  power, 
the  weaving  was  by  hand.  Most  of  the  operatives 
were  males,  a  few  young  girls  being  employed  in 
splicing  rolls.  In  a  few  years  the  first  company 
was  dissolved ,  and  the  mill  passed  into  other  hands. 
"The  Scholfields  were  succeeded  by  Messrs. 
Lees  and  Taylor.  These  gentlemen  were  also 
English.  New  machinery,  imported  from  Eng- 


BYFIELD    FACTORY. 

land  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods,  was  put 
in.  Mr.  Taylor  soon  left,  but  Mr.  Lees  contin- 
ued to  operate  the  mill  for  several  years. 

"  The  establishment  of  this  factory  brought  quite 
a  revolution  in  the  domestic  manufacture  of  the 
neighborhood.  For  some  time  previous,  in  most 
families,  hand  carding  had  been  discontinued, 
the  wool  having  been  sent  to  be  converted  into 
rolls,  to  the  clothier's  mills  of  Mr.  Ben  Pearson 
or  Mr.  Samuel  Dummer. 

"Lees  and  Taylor  made  arrangements  by  which 
this  family  carding  could  be  done  at  their  facto- 
ry both  cheaper  and  better  than  at  the  smaller 
mills. 

uThe  introduction  of  cotton  opened  a  new  chan- 
nel of  industry.  The  weaving  was  still  per- 
formed by  hand  ;  as  the  business  increased  this 
loom  power  was  not  sufficient  to  supply  the  de- 
mand for  cloths.  Their  goods  consisted  of  heavy 
tickings  and  a  lighter  cloth  of  blue  and  white 
striped,  or  checked,  suitable  for  men's  and  boys' 
summer  wear,  aprons,  etc.  The  tickings  were 
woven  by  men  on  the  looms  of  the  factory,  but 
much  of  the  lighter  stuffs  were  taken  into  fami- 
lies and  woven  on  the  common  house  loom." 

Dr.  Jedediah  Morse,  in  the  "  American  Gaz- 
etteer," printed  at  Boston  in  1797,  says:  "  A 


10  BYFIELD    FACTORY. 

woolen  manufactory  has  been  established  on  an 
extensive  scale  in  Byfield  parish,  and  promises 
to  succeed. " 

In  Bishop's  "  History  of  American  Manufac- 
tures" is  the  following:  "  The  first  incorporated 
woolen  company  in  Massachusetts  erected  a  fac- 
tory at-  the  Falls  of  Parker  river,  in  Byfield  Par- 
ish, Newbury.  The  machinery  was  made  in 
Newburyport  The  stockholders  were  William 
Bartlett,  principal,  afterwards  sole,  owner.  Wil- 
liam Johnson, Nicholas  Johnson,  Michael  Hodge. 
Joseph  Stan  wood,  Mark  Fitz,  Mr.  Currier,  of 
Amesbury,  Mr.  Parsons,  (late  chief  justice), 
Jonathan  Greenleaf,  James  Prince,  Abraham 
Wheelwright,  Philip  Coombs,  and  others.  The 
English  operatives  by  whom  it  was  started,  were 
Arthur,  John,  and  James  Scholfield,  John  Lee, 
Mr.  Aspinwall,  Abraham  and  John  Taylor,  John 
Shaw  and  James  Hall,  principally  from  Oldham 
and  Saddle  worth,  England." 

In  reference  to  this  enterprise  at  Byfield,  is 
the  following  history,  prepared  from  memoranda 
made  by  Nathan  Scholfield,  a  grandson,  now  de- 
ceased, and  from  information  furnished  the  writer 
by  James  and  Thomas  Scholfield,  sons  of  John 
Scholfield,  and  by  others  of  his  descendants. 

From  which  it  appears  that  on  the  24th  of 


ARTHUR    AND    JOHN    SCHOLFIELD.  11 

March,  1793,  Arthur  Scholfield  with  John  Schol- 
field and  his  family,  sons  of  Arthur  Scholfield, 
who  lived  at  Standieh-foot,  in  Saddle  worth,  York- 
shire, England,  sailed  from  Liverpool  in  the  ship 
u  Perseverance  "  for  the  United  States,  where 
they  arrived  the  following  May,  at  Boston.  Upon 
the  landing  of  the  two  brothers,  Arthur  and  John, 
they  introduced  themselves  to  Mr.  Jedediah 
Morse, — author  of  "  Morse's  Geography  and 
Gazetteer," — as  heing  manufacturers,  and  well 
skilled  in  the  most  approved  method  of  manu- 
facturing woolen  goods  in  England.  Arthur  was 
unmarried,  John  having  a  wife  and  six  children, 
was  accommodated  by  Mr.  Morse  with  a  tene- 
ment in  Charlestown,  near  Bunker's  hill,  who 
also  provided  for  their  immediate  necessities, 
and  afterwards  interested  himself  largely  in  their 
behalf.  Upon  the  return  of  the  ship  to  Liver- 
pool, the  following  letter  of  enquiry  was  directed 
to  the  captain  by  Arthur  Scholfield,  their  father, 
viz. : — 

"  To  Captain  Delano  Belonging  the  ship  Caled 
the  Persivearance  now  liing  at  Liverpool. 

"  Honoured  Sir  we  are  no  little  Surprised  and 
Very  unesey  that  we  have  not  yet  Received  a 
letter  from  our  Sons  Arthur  &  John  Schofield 
w7ho  went  on  Bord  Your  Vessil  to  Boston  in  New 


12  ARTHUR    AND    JOHN    SCHOLFIELD. 

England,  therefore  Humble  Desire  you'l  inform 
them  of  it  and  let  them  know  how  unhappy  we 
are  Concerning  the'm  likewise  we  sent  a  Box 
after  them  by  Your  Brother  who  sailed  in  the 
ship  Caled  the  Dutiful  Sons  and  we  should  be 
glad  to  know  whether  the  Received  it  or  no  And 
if  the  are  in  want  of  anything  from  England  it 
shall  be  Sent  them  with  all  Speed  and  Humbley 
desire  You'l  make  it  Conveniant  Ether  to  write 
to  them  or  See  them  and  inform  them  of  all  this 
and  I  make  not  the  least  doubt  But  the  will  pleas 
You  for  Your  trouble  and  lethem  know  trades 
of  all  sorts  are  Verry  Bad  and  provishons  of  all 
sorts  very  Dear  things  are  strangely  altered  sins 
the  left  England  we  are  all  well  at  present  so  I 
remain  Most  worthy  Sir  with  due  Respects  Your 
Hum'e  Serv't. 

"  Standige  foot  in  Saddle  worth, 

^  Yorkshire  Aug  13th  1793 

"  ARTHUR  Sc  HO  FIELD." 

After  looking  around  for  a  few  weeks,  Arthur 
and  John  determined  to  make  a  start  in  the  man- 
ufacturing of  woolen  cloth,  and  on  the  20th  of 
June  took  into  copartnership  with  them  a  man 
named  John  Shaw,  a  spinner  and  weaver  who 
had  accompanied  them  from  England,  and  at 


ARTHUR    AND    JOHN    SCHOLFIELU.  13 

once  commenced  the  manufacture  of  woolen 
cloth  by  hand. 

John  Scholfield,  being  well  skilled  in  the  use 
of  tools,  built  the  first  machinery  himself,  having 
completed  a  hand-loom  and  a  spinning-jenny  of 
forty  spindles  by  the  4th  of  August  of  the  same 
year.  His  books  show  that  he  paid  £'2,  8,8,  for 
lumber  used  in  building  the  machinery,  and  that 
he  charged  the  company  for  labor  on  the  same 
£12,3,0. 

He  expended  from  his  own  funds  for  wool, 
£71,3,6,  and  on  the  28th  of  October,  sold  from 
the  first  production  of  this  loom,  24  J  yards  of 
black  broadcloth,  for  £16,16,  and  20  yards  of 
mixed  broadcloth  for  £12.  All  this  work 
was  done  in  the  house  occupied  by  them  in 
Charlestown. 

Mr.  Morse  was  an  interested  observer  of 
what  was  being  done,  and  seeing  that  broad- 
cloth could  be  made  to  advantage  in  this  coun- 
try, and  finding  that  Arthur  and  John  under- 
stood the  construction  of  machinery  used  in  Eng- 
land, recommended  them  to  some  persons  of 
wealth  in  Newburyport,  who  persuaded  the 
brothers  to  remove  to  that  place,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  starting  a  woolen  factory  with  improved 
machinery,  to  be  constructed  under  their  super- 
vision. 


14  FIRST    CARDING    MACHINES. 

Upon  their  arrival  at  Newburyport,  December 
1,  1793, — taking  with  them  the  machinery  built 
at  Charlestown, — work  was  immediately  com- 
menced upon  a  carding  machine,  which  was 
first  put  together  in  a  room  in  Lord  Timothy 
Dexter's  stable,  and  there  operated  by  hand  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  its  operation  to  parties 
desiring  to  engage  in  the  enterprise.  James 
Schol field,  living  at  Montville,  Conn.,  now  in  his 
ninety-eighth  year,  was  present  at  this  exhibi- 
tion, which  he  distinctly  remembers. 

This  was  in  1794,  and  was  the  first  carding 
(^-  tiiachine  for  wool  made  in  the  United  States,  and 
upon  this  machine  were  made  the  first  spinning 
rolls  carded  by  machinery. 

Those  interested  in  the  enterprise,  feeling 
thus  assured  of  success,  determined  upon  the  im- 
mediate erection  of  a  factory  at  By  field  ;  the 
building  was  three  stories  high  and  one  hundred 
feet  in  length,  and  was  completed  and  started  in 
1795. 

The  first  carding  machine  was  made  with  a 
single  cylinder,  after  which  two  double  machines 
with  two  cylinders  each  were  completed,  and  the 
three  placed  in  the  By  field  factory,  where  they 
were  tended  by  James  Scholfield,  then  eleven 
years  old. 


FIRST    FACTORY    IN    MASSACHUSETTS.  15 

While  the  carding  and  other  machinery  was 
being  constructed, — under  the  direction  of  Ar- 
thur and  John, — the  manufacture  of  woolen 
goods  by  hand  was  continued  by  them  at  New- 
buryport,  as  originally  commenced  at  Charles- 
town,  for  their  own  account  until  October  1*2, 
1794,  when  they  sold  their  machinery  to  the 
company  and  removed  to  Byfield  to  superintend 
and  start  the  new  factory. 

John  Scholfield  was  employed  as  overseer  of 
the  weaving,  and  as  agent  of  the  company  in  the 
purchase  of  the  wool.  Arthur  was  overseer  of 
the  carding.  John  Shaw  was  employed  as  a 
weaver  ;  he  worked  in  the  factory  for  a  number 
of  years. 

After  remaining  at  Byfield  about  five  years, 
John  Scholfield,  during  one  of  his  excursions  into 
Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  purchasing  wool, 
became  acquainted  with  a  valuable  water  privi- 
lege, at  the  mouth  of  the  Oxoboxo  river,  in 
Montville,  Conn.,  which  he  leased  in  1798,  from 
Andrew  Tracy  and  wife,  for  the  term  of  four- 
teen years.  This  lease  runs  to  Arthur  and  John, 
is  dated  April  19,  1799,  and  includes  the  water- 
power,  a  dwelling  house,  shop  and  seventeen 
acres  of  land.  In  1798-9,  as  soon  as  he  could 
make  arrangements  to  that  effect,  he,  with  his 


16  FIRST    FACTORY    IN    CONNECTICUT. 

family  and  Arthur,  left  Byfield  and  removed  to 
this  place. 

The  business  of  the  Byfield  factory  was  car- 
ried on  for  a  time  by  the  company  after  Arthur 
and  John  Scholfield  had  sold  their  interest,  but 
the  company  soon  sold  out  to  Lees  and  Taylor, 
who  attemped  to  carry  on  the  business,  but  shortly 
failed.  It  was  subsequently  operated  for  a  time 
under  the  management  of  John  Lees.  John 
Lees  and  John  Taylor  were  Englishmen,  and 
were  only  operatives,  employed  as  weavers  in 
the  factory  while  John  Scholfield  was  agent. 

In  this  enterprise  where  Arthur  and  John 
Scholfield  were  employed,  the  latter  as  agent  of 
the  company,  to  superintend  the  construction  of 
the  machinery  and  to  conduct  its  business,  we 
have  the  first  instance  of  a  woolen  factory  with 
improved  machinery,  erected  in  the  United 
States,  where  the  manufacture  was  successfully 
accomplished,  all  previous  attempts  having  be'en 
unsuccessful,  by  reason  of  imperfect  machinery. 

Immediately  upon  the  removal  of  Arthur  and 
John  Scholfield  to  Montville,  they  built  a  factory 
at  Uncasville,  a  village  in  that  town,  which  they 
put  in  operation  as  soon  as  completed. 

Arthur,  after  continuing  business  here  for 
a  few  years,  being  desirous  of  establishing  him- 


FIRST    FACTORY    IN    CONNECTICUT.  17 

self  elsewhere,  sold  out  his  interest  in  1801  to 
John,  and  removed  to  Pittsfield,  Mass. 

John  continued  the  operation  of  the  Mont- 
ville  factory  until  1806,  when,  owing  to  threat- 
ened difficulties  with  the  owners  of  the  adjoin- 
ing land,  regarding  the  right  to  the  water-power 
used  at  the  factory,  and  having  purchased  a  fac- 
tory property  in  Stonington,  sold  out  to  these 
parties,  John  R.  and  Nathan  Comstock,  leaving 
his  sons  James  and  Thomas  to  conduct  the  busi- 
ness until  the  termination  of  the  lease. 

This  was  the  first  woolen  factory  put  in  ope- 
ration in  Connecticut. 

This  property  was  owned  by  Nathan  Com- 
stock, Jr.,  as  late  as  1834,  when  he  sold  it  to 
William  G.  Johnson,  it  being  the  present  site 
of  the  "  Johnson  Dye  Works,"  at  Uncasville, 
the  first  privilege  above  the  mouth  of  the  Oxo- 
boxo  river. 

It  is  most  probable  that  the  Scholfields  impor- 
ted a  carding-machine  from  England  while  at 
Byfield,  as,  at  the  time  of  their  removal  to  Con- 
necticut, they  took  with  them  a  carding-machine 
of  which  the  frame,  cylinders  and  lags  were  of 
mahogany.  The  sons  of  John  Scholfield  now  liv- 
ing, were  familiar  with  this  machine,  which  they 
say  was  made  in  England,  first  put  in  operation 


18  DR.  MORSE'S  LETTER. 

at  Byfield,  removed  to   Montville,    and    subse- 
quently taken  to  the  factory  at  Stonington. 

Dr.  Jedediah  Morse  always  retained  a  lively 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Scholfield  brothers, 
and  from  the  tenor  of  the  following  letter,  writ- 
ten to  John  after  they  were  located  at  Montville, 
appears  to  have  had  financial  transactions  with 
them. 

"  CHARLESTOWN,  June  7,  1799. 

"  DEAR  SIR. — "  Your  favor  of  the  6th  ult'mo 
was  rec'd  by  Mrs.  Morse  while  I  was  absent  on 
a  journey  to  Phil'a.  I  take  the  earliest  opp'y 
since  my  return  to  answer  it. 

"The  18th  of  May,  1798,  I  paid  Mr.  How- 
land  360  dols.  I  thank  you  however  for  your 
intended  indulgence.  I  had  been  wishing  for  a 
long  time  to  settle  the  balance  with  you,  as  I 
knew  there  was  a  deficiency,  Mr.  Lyra  an  hav- 
ing paid  me  a  part  through  a  friend  after  1  had 
drawn  the  order  on  him. 

"Before  I  close  this.  I  will  endeavor  to  pro- 
cure you  and  enclose  the  balance,  it  being 
uneven  money  is  not  so  convenient. 

"  My  family  are  all  in  good  health  through  a 
kind  Providence.  Give  our  regards  to  your  wife, 


THE    SECOND    FACTORY    IN    CONNECTICUT.          19 

brother  and  children,   and  accept  the   same  for 
yourself,  from  yours  with  esteem  and  affection. 

"  JED'H  MORSE." 

During  the  year  1806,  John  Scholfield  bought 
a  water  privilege  and  Oil  mill  in  Stonington, 
Conn.,  near  Pawcatuck Bridge.  This  mill  he  filled 
with  woolen  machinery,  and  also  built  near  by  a 
factory  building  30  by  40  feet,  two  stories  high, 
which  continued  in  his  charge  until  1812,  when 
he  returned  to  Montville,  placing  his  son  Joseph 
in  charge,  who  operated  the  factory  until  1834, 
when  he  sold  the  property  to  Orsmus  M.  Still- 
man.  It  is  now  standing  and  forms  a  portion  of 
the  Stillmanville  Mills. 

Joseph  Scholfield  was  also  connected  in  1817, 
with  others,  in  the  ownership  of  a  woolen  facto- 
ry in  Dudley.  Mass. 

John  Scholfield  put  into  this  Stonington  facto- 
ry, two  double  carding  machines,  twenty-four 
inches  wide,  two  spinning-jennies,  one  with 
forty  and  one  with  fifty  spindles,  and  a  billy  of 
thirty  spindles  ;  the  jennies  and  billy  were  ope- 
rated by  hand,  the  carding  machines  by  water 
power. 

This  was  the  second  woolen  factory  in  Con- 
necticut, and  the  third  place  in  which  John 

3 


20  THE    DEATH    OF    JOHN    SCHOLFIELD. 

Scholfield  had  engaged  in  manufacturing, — first, 
at  Byfield,  in  1793-4;  second,  at  INlontville,  in 
1798-9  ;  third  at  Stonington  in  1806. 

In  1813,  John  Scholfield  purchased  a  factory 
and  water  privilege  in  Montville,  located  about 
four  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Oxoboxo  river, 
upon  that  stream  ;  he  enlarged  the  mill,  putting 
in  woolen  machinery,  and  removed  his  family  to 
this  place,  where  he  continued  to  reside  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life. 

This  mill  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  his 
grandson,  Benjamin  Scholfield,  who  continues 
there  the  manufacture  of  the  celebrated  u  Schol- 
field Satinet." 

John  Scholfield  afterwards,  in  1814,  purchased 
a  mill  privilege  at  Waterford,  on  a  stream  which 
empties  into  Bolles  Cove,  three  miles  above  New 
London,  and  there  erected  a  factory,  which  was 
placed  in  charge  of  his  son  Thomas,  who  contin- 
ued in  that  position  until  his  father's  death  in 
1820. 

John  Scholfield  died  February  28,  1820,  aged 
sixty-two  years,  and  was  buried  in  Montville 
Cemetery.  By  his  last  will  he  gave  free  from 
all  incumbrance,  his  three  factory  properties  as 
follows :  the  one  at  Waterford.  to  his  son 
Thomas  ;  the  one  at  Stonington,  to  his  son 


LONGEVITY    OF    THE    SCHOLFIELD    FAMILY.          21 

Joseph  ;  and  the  Montville  property  to  his  wife 
and  younger  children,  which  is  now  owned  by 
one  of  his  descendants. 

In  1813  Thomas  Scholfield,  son  of  John,  man- 
ufactured and  sold  the  first  piece  of  satinet  made 
in  Connecticut.  It  was  made  upon  a  loom  of  his 
own  construction  ;  the  wool  was  from  the  farm  of 
Christopher  Greene,  in  Waterford,  and  cost  one 
dollar  a  pound  ;  the  warp  also  cost  one  dollar  a 
pound.  This  satinet  was  sold  at  three  dollars  per 
yard  to  Reuben  Langdon,  then  a  dry  goods  mer- 
chant in  the  building  on  the  corner  of  Greene 
and  State  streets,  New  London. 

The  longevity  of  John  Scholfield's  family  is 
something  remarkable.  Of  his  six  children,  four 
are  still  living.  James,  who  resides  at  Mont- 
ville, will  be  ninety-eight  years  old  should  he 
live  to  the  coming  September ;  he  enjoys  good 
health  and  retains  all  his  faculties  in  an  unusual 
degree,  and  can  read  ordinary  print  without  the 
aid  of  glasses.  Mrs.  Mary  Hinckley,  a  daughter, 
resides  in  Stonington;  she  was  ninety-five  years 
old  on  the  fourth  day  of  February.  Thomas,  re- 
siding at  North  Lynne,  was  ninety-one,  and 
Isaac,  residing  at  Noank,  was  eighty -one  years 
old, — their  birthday  being  the  same, — on  the 
twenty-first  day  of  March. 


22  THE    SCHOLFIELDS    THE    ORIGINATORS. 

The  late  Mr.  Samuel  Bachelder,  in  a  commu- 
nication to  the  Bulletin  of  the  "  National  Asso- 
ciation of  Wool  Manufacturers,"  vol.  iv,  refers 
to  the  former  article  by  the  writer  upon  this  sub- 
ject, and  after  quoting  two  different  authorities 
in  which  Lees  and  Taylor  are  mentioned,  in  one 
of  which  it  is  stated,  that  "Lees  imported  carding 
machinery  from  England,  and  put  it  in  operation 
at  Byfield  in  1796,  says  :  "  Both  of  the  above 
accounts  agree  in  fixing  the  first  operation  of 
carding  by  machinery  at  Byfield,  and  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  woolen  factory  there  in  1794, 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  Scholfield,  Lees 
and  Taylor  are  all  entitled  to  some  share  in  the 
credit  of  contributing  this  first  step  in  the  woolen 
manufacture." 

From  this  detailed  account  from  various 
sources  of  the  origin  of  the  Byfield  factory,  con- 
firmed by  the  testimony  of  James  Scholfield, 
who  was  then  of  an  age  to  understand  intelli- 
gently what  was  being  done,  it  is  shown  that  the 
Scholfields  alone  were  the  responsible  managers 
of  this  enterprise,  and  that  Lees  and  Taylor  only 
appear  after  the  Scholfields  have  severed  their 
connection  with  the  company,  previous  to  this 
time  they  had  simply  been  operatives  in  the  fac- 
tory. 


THE    IMPORTATIONS     OF     MACHINERY.  23 

There  is  much  doubt  as  to  Lees  having  impor- 
ted woolen  machinery  from  England  for  this  mill. 

In  u  Reminiscences  of  a  Nonagenarian,"  she 
says :  "  The  Scholfields  were  succeeded  by 
Messrs.  Lees  and  Taylor.  These  gentlemen 
were  also  English.  New  machinery  imported 
from  England  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  cloth 
was  put  in." 

Bishop,  in  his  "History  of  American  Manufac- 
tures," says  :  "  Mr.  John  Lees,  who  had  be- 
come proprietor  of  the  woolen  mill  in  Byfield, 
succeeded  about  this  time  (1805),  in  shipping 
clandestinely,  from  England  in  large  casks  la- 
belled '  as  hardware,'  in  charge  of  his  brother-in- 
law,  James  Mallalow,  a  quantity  of  cotton  ma- 
chinery   The  machinery  was  erected  in 

the  factory  building." 

Mr.  Bachelder's  impression  rests  largely  upon 
verbal  information  and  tradition,  which  he  admits 
is  always  liable  to  inaccuracy,  particularly  as  to 
dates.  John  Lees  subsequently  re- appears  as  a 
cotton  manufacturer  at  Holden,  Mass.,  in  1822. 

Arthur  Scholh'eld  remained  with  John  at 
Montville  about  three  years ;  he  was  married 
there  on  the  sixteenth  of  April  1801,  and  in  the 
autumn  removed  to  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  where  he 
built  a  carding-machine,  and  commenced  the 


24  DEATH    OF    ARTHUR    SCHOLFIELD. 

business  of  carding  rolls  and  manufacturing. 
He  also  built  carding-machines  and  set  them  up 
for  others  to  operate,  as  will  appear  hereafter. 
The  remainder  of  his  life  was  passed  in  Pittsfield, 
where  he  died  March  27,  1827,  aged  seventy 
years  and  six  months ;  he  was  buried  in  the  rear 
of  the  Baptist  church  in  that  place. 

The  citizens  of  Berkshire  county,  having  this 
industry  brought  to  them  thus  early  in  its  history, 
and  the  first  of  the  textile  industries  to  invite 
their  attention,  engaged  actively  in  this  branch 
of  the  manufacturing  business,  making  it  one  of 
the  principal  centres  for  the  woolen  manufacture, 
and  maintaining  this  supremacy  down  to  the  time 
of  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  It  was  said  then 
that  more  woolen  machinery  was  operated  in  this 
county  than  in  any  other  within  the  state  of 
Massachusetts.  This  statement  would  hardly 
hold  good  at  the  present  time. 

To  the  address  of  the  Hon.  Ensign  H.  Kellogg, 
delivered  before  the  "  Berkshire  Association  of 
Woolen  Manufacturers,"  Feb.  22,  1855,  is  ap- 
pended a  sketch  of  the  history  of  Pittsfield,  as 
relating  to  the  introduction  of  the  woolen  manu- 
facture into  that  town,  prepared  by  Mr.  Thad- 
deus  Clapp,  3d,  wherein  Arthur  Scholfield  ap- 
pears as  the  prominent  actor.  From  this  sketch 
I  have  taken  the  following,  viz. : 


FIRST    FULLING    MILL    IN    PITTSFIELD.  25 

"  Pittsfield  was  settled  in  1752,  incorporated 
in  1  760,  and  in  February,  1770,  Valentine  Rath- 
bun  started  the  first  fulling  mill.  Mr.  Rathbun 
purchased  the  property  now  owned  by  Messrs. 
J.  V.  Baker  &  Bros.,  and  in  a  few  weeks  his  full- 
ing mill  and  hand-shears  were  in  full  operation. 
Stimulated  by  the  extraordinary  success  of  Mr. 
Rathbun  (for  he  charged  forty  to  fifty  cents  for 
fulling  and  finishing  a  single  yard  of  cloth), 
Deacon  Barber,  in  1776,  conceived  the  idea  of 
establishing  a  rival  concern  in  the  north  part  of 
the  town,  and  accordingly  put  in  operation,  near 
where  the  Pittsfield  Company's  mills  are,  an  im- 
proved fulling  mill,  to  administer  to  the  wants  of 
the  neighborhood. 

"  From  year  to  year,  as  the  town  increased, 
more  clothiers'  works  were  established,  until  the 
numbers  of  the  profession  became  quite  formida- 
ble." 

In  1805,  they  had  become  so  numerous  that 
the  idea  of  an  association  for  mutual  protection 
was  suggested. 

fct  A  writer  in  the  Pittsfield  Sun,  cf  April  15, 
1805,  under  the  signature  of  'Brother  Clothier,' 
published  an  article,  from  which  the  following  is 
an  extract :  '  If  a  society  of  clothiers  should 
combine  for  the  laudable  purpose  of  investigat- 


26  CLAPP'S    ACCOUNT    OF    SCHOLFIELD. 

ing  the  natural  quality  of  chemical  liquids,  and 
improve  in  making  and  dressing  cloth,  it  would, 
in  my  opinion,  be  a  society  as  useful  and  honor- 
able to  the  country  as  a  missionary  or  any  other 
society  whatever.' " 

Mr.  Clapp  says:  "Arthur  Scholfield,  the 
man  who  put  in  operation  the  first  carding-ma- 
chine.  and  manufactured  the  lirst  piece  of  broad- 
cloth in  America,  came  to  this  country  in  1789, 
with  Mr.  Samuel  Slater,  the  father  of  cotton 
manufacture.  Scholfield  came  to  Pittsfield  in 
1800. 

"  The  laws  of  England  did  not  admit  of  the 
emigration  of  machinists,  and  therefore  he  took 
no  tools  with  him,  trusting  solely  to  the  power 
of  his  memory  to  enable  him  to  construct  the 
most  complicated  machinery.  His  memory  was 
unusually  tenacious,  and  being  a  good  mathe- 
matician, he  was  enabled  to  enter  into  the  nice 
calculations  required  in  such  a  labor,  but  new 
and  important  obstacles  came  up,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  return  to  England  before  he  could 
perfect  his  carding  machine.  About  the  year 
1801,  his  machine  was  completed,  and  we  have 
his  first  advertisement  in  the  Pittsfield  Sun,  of 
Nov.  2,  1801,  as  follows,  viz. : 


FIRST    BROADCLOTH    MADE.  27 

"  'Arthur  Scholfield  respectfully  informs  the 
inhabitants  of  Pittsfield,  and  the  neighboring 
towns,  that  he  has  a  carding-machine  half  a  mile 
west  of  the  meeting-house,  where  they  may  have 
their  wool  carded  into  rolls  for  twelve  and  a  half 
cents  per  pound ;  mixed,  for  fifteen  and  a  half 
cents  per  pound,  If  they  find  the  grease,  and 
pick  and  grease  it,  it  will  be  ten  cents  per  pound 
and  twelve  and  a  half  cents  mixed.  They  are 
requested  to  send  their  wool  in  sheets,  as  they 
will  serve  to  bind  up  the  rolls  when  done.  Also 
a  small  assortment  of  woolens  for  sale.' 

"The  first  broadcloth  made  in  this  country 
"was  by  Scholfield,  in  1804.  This  cloth  was  a 
gray  mixed,  and  when  finished  was  shown  to  the 
different  merchants  and  offered  for  sale,  but 
could  find  no  purchasers  in  the  village.  A  few 
weeks  subsequently,  Josiah  Bissell,  a  leading 
merchant  in  town,  made  a  voyage  to  New  York 
for  the  purpose  of  buying  goods,  and  brought 
home  two  pieces  of  Scholfield's  cloth,  which  were 
purchased  for  the  foreign  article.  Scholfield 
was  sent  for  to  test  the  quality,  and  soon  exhibi- 
ted to  the  merchant  his  private  marks  on'  the 
same  cloth  which  he  had  before  rejected.  In 
1808,  Scholfield  manufactured  thirteen  yards  of 


28  SCHOLFIELD'S  ADVERTISEMENTS. 

black  broadcloth,  which  was  presented  to  James 
""Madison,  from  which  his  inaugural  suit  was  made. 
Fine  merino  sheep  were  introduced  to  this  town 
about  this  time  (they  having  been  but  recently 
introduced  into  the  country,  from  the  celebrated 
flocks  of  Rambouillet),  and  Scholfield  was  enabled 
to  select  enough  to  make  this  single  piece,  and 
President  Madison  was  the  first  president  who 
was  inaugurated  in  American  broadcloth. 

"  Some  advertisements  from  the  files  of  the 
Pittsfield  Sun,  of  Scholfield's  enterprise,  will 
show  what  prices  he  obtained  for  his  work,  and 
how  important  his  operations  were  regarded.  I 
find  on  a  day-book  of  his,  broadcloth  charged  to 
individuals  as  early  as  1805,  and  prices  paid  for 
weaving,  from  forty  to  sixty  cents  per  yard. 

"  '  PITTSFIELD  FACTORY,  April,  1805. 
"  ;  Good  news  for  farmers,  only  eight  cents  per 
pound  for  picking,  greasing  and  carding  white 
wool,  and  twelve  and  a  half  cents  for  mixed.  For 
sale,  Double  Carding-machines,  upon  a  new  and 
improved  plan,  good  and  cheap.  Also,  a  few 
sets  of  cards  made  by  the  shakers  [evidently 
hand-cards],  and  warranted  good. 

"  '  ARTHUR  SCHOLFIELD.' 


SCHOLFIELD'S  ADVERTISEMENTS.  29 

"  '  PITTSFIELD  FACTORY,  1806. 
"  '  Double  carding  machines,  made  and  sold  by 
A.  Schol field  for  $253  each,  without  the  cards, 
or  $400  including  the  cards.  Picking  machines 
at  $30  each.  Wool  carded  on  the  same  terms 
as  last  year,  viz. :  eight  cents  per  pound  for  white, 
arid  twelve  and  a  half  cents  for  mixed,  no  credit 
given.' J: 

Carding- machines  having  been  purchased  of 
Scholfield,  were  established  at  Lanesborough,  in 
1805  ;  at  Lenox  ;  at  Curtis's  Mills,  in  Stock- 
bridge  ;  at  the  Falls,  near  the  forge,  in  Lee ;  at 
Mr.  Baird's  mills,  in  Bethlehem  ;  and  in  1806, 
by  Reuben  Judd  &  Co.,  at  Williamstown  ;  also 
by  John  Hart,  in  Cheshire,  in  1807. 

Two  advertisements  of  the  period,  are  as  fol- 
lows, viz. : 

"  FARMERS  TAKE  NOTICE.  CARDING-MACHINE. 
The  inhabitants  of  this  and  the  neighboring 
towns  are  informed  that  the  subscribers  have 
erected,  about  a  mile  west  of  Ezra  Hall's  tavern 
in  Lanesborough,  a  carding- machine,  at  which 
wool  of  one  color  will  be  picked,  oiled  and 
carded  for  eight  cents,  and  mixed  for  twelve  and 
a  half  cents  a  pound.  The  work  will  be  super- 
intended by  a  man  who  has  served  a  regular  ap- 


30  SCHOLFIELD'S  ADVERTISEMENTS. 

prenticeship  to  the  business ;  the  strictest  atten- 
tion will  be  paid  and  every  exertion  used,  to  give 
satisfaction  to  those  who  bring  wool  to  their  ma- 
chine. 

"  BETHUEL  BARKER,  JUN..,  &  Co. 
«  Lanesborough,  May  10,  1805." 

"  CARDING-MACHINES.  The  subscribers,  in  ad- 
dition to  their  old  carding-machine,  have  lately- 
erected,  at  their  mills  near  the  Furnace  in  Len- 
ox, a  new  and  double  machine,  made  and  let  by 
Mr.  A.  Scholfield,  Pittsfield,  and  by  him  war- 
ranted to  be  of  the  best  kind  ;  they  now  flatter 
themselves  they  shall  be  able  to  give  satisfaction 
to  all  who  bring  their  wool  to  their  machines. 
Strict  attention  will  be  paid  by  Mr.  Perkin,  who 
with  their  present  machines,  can  make  as  good 
work  as  is  made  at  any  machine,  or  by  any 
workman  in  the  country,  (Mr.  Scholfield  having 
relinquished  the  carding  business).  .  .  . 

"WALKER  &  WORTHINGTON. 

44  Lenox,  May  6,  1806." 

"  The  first  meeting  to  form  a  company  for  the 
purpose  of  manufacturing  fine  cloth  and  stock- 
ings, was  held  January  4,  1809,  at  Pittsfield. 
The  following  is  among  the  resolutions  : — 


SPINNING    JENNY.  31 

"  RESOLVED,  That  the  introduction  of  spinning 
jennies,  as  is  practiced  in  England,  into  private 
families,  is  strongly  recommended,  since  one  per- 
son can  manage  by  hand,  by  the  operation  of  a 
crank,  twenty-four  spindles." 

This  resolution  respecting  spinning-jennies, 
seems  to  imply  but  a  recent  knowledge  of  these 
machines,  which  is  rather  surprising,  inasmuch 
as  the  spinning  jenny  was  invented  by  James 
Hargreaves  about  1767,  and  they  were  intro- 
duced from  England  into  Philadelphia  as  early 
as  1775,  and  John  Scholfield  made  one  of  forty 
spindles  within  three  months  from  his  lauding ; 
which  would  indicate  a  more  general  use  of  them 
in  the  country  in  1809,  than  might  be  inferred 
from  this  resolution.  A  spinning-jenny  of  twen- 
ty-eight spindles  for  cotton  was  built  in  Provi- 
dence by  Daniel  Anthony,  in  1787. 

The  invention  of  the  spinning-jenny  by  Har- 
(--gfeaves  seems  to  have  been  the  beginning  of  im- 
portant improvements  in  woolen  machinery  in 
England;  as  from  that  time  many  inventions  were 
successfully  applied,  which  operated  so  power- 
fully upon  the  woolen  business,  that  in  the  year 
1800,  it  was  found  that  the  trade  had  increased 
three-fold  in  comparatively  few  years. 

The  statements  of  Mr.  Clapp,  relative  to  Ar- 

4 


32  THE    EMBARGO. 

thur  Scholfield,  differ  in  several  particulars  from 
that  of  the  sons  of  John  Scholfield. 

From  their  account  he  was  associated  previous 
to  his  removal  to  Pittsfield,  in  two  enterprises 
with  John  Scholfield,  one  at  Byfield  in  1798-4  ; 
the  other  at  Montville  in  1798-9;  in  both  of 
which  broadcloth  was  made ;  consequently,  the 
carding- machine  erected  in  Pittsfield  could  not 
have  been  the  first  put  in  operation,  neither  was 
the  broadcloth  made  there  the  first  manufactured 
in  the  country.  Also,  it  appears  that  he  did  not 
come  from  England  with  Samuel  Slater  in  1789, 
but  with  John  Scholfield  in  1793,  neither  did  he 
return  there  during  the  time  he  was  engaged  in 
building  his  carding-machine;  that  was  unnec- 
essary, as  the  process  of  building  carding  ma- 
chinery was  already  known  to  him,  and  obstacles 
could  easily  have  been  overcome  by  reference  to 
the  English  machine  he  had  left  at  Montville. 

In  consequence  of  the  controversy  between 
the  United  States  and  England  in  1807,  in  ref- 
erence to  the  '-'right  of  search,"  so  called,  an 
embargo  was  laid  by  Congress,  on  the  22d  of 
December,  upon  all  vessels  within  the  United 
States.  This  measure  was  particularly  obnox- 
ious to  the  people  of  New  England.  They 
deemed  it  both  impolitic  and  oppressive,  and  by 


THE     EMBARGO.  33 

reason  of  this  measure  the  large  shipping  inter- 
est of  the  United  States  was  suspended  until  its 
repeal. 

Arthur  Scholtield's  business  was  seriously  af- 
fected by  this  measure,  and  he  writes  to  his 
brother  John  as  follows,  viz. : 

44  PITTSFIELD,  July  llth,  1808. 
"  BROTHER  JOHN  Yours  of  the  4th  June  is 
rec'd.  You  say  you  hardly  know  how  you  are 
doing  for  there  is  an  Imbargo  laid  last  Dec'r, 
and  it  still  continues — the  Imbargo  is  here  too, 
and  likely  to  stay  for  what  I  see.  It  has  swin- 
dled me  out  of  about  1500  dollars — for  besides 
what  I  shall  loose  by  failures  I  have  22  Ma- 
chines on  hand  besides  Pickers — they  were  all 
ingaged  last  summer,  and  if  times  had  not  turned, 
should  have  had  the  money  for  them  now.  If  I 
had  left  Buiseness  the  spring  before  last  it  would 
have  been  mnch  to  my  interest  but  at  that  time 
the  Imbargo  was  not  thought  of,  except  by  King 
Jefferson  and  his  party,  and  as  they  cant  do  rong 
we  must  put  up  with  it — I  have  often  thought 
you  might  have  done  Better  by  moving  back  in- 
to the  Country,  but  as  things  are  now  there  is 
no  doing  anything  anywhere — have  not  heard 
from  home  a  long  time. 

"ARTHUR  SCHOLFIELD." 


DEPRESSED    CONDITION    OF    MANUFACTURES. 

After  the  war  of  1812,  owing  to  the  over- 
whelming influx  of  foreign  goods,  manufactures 
in  this  country  became  greatly  depressed,  and  so 
continued  for  several  years ;  many  who  had 
started  during  the  flush  times  of  the  war  were 
obliged  to  suspend.  Arthur  Scholfield's  business 
losses  had  been  severe,  and  in  1818  he  was  ad- 
vised by  his  friends  in  Pittsh'eld  to  make  an  ap- 
plication to  Congress  for  relief  in  consideration 
for  his  services  in  the  early  introduction  of  the 
woolen  manufacture  to  this  country.  He  there- 
fore wrote  as  follows  to  his  brother  John,  at 
Montville,  requesting  his  advice  and  counsel  in 
the  matter,  as  they  were  both  equally  interested, 

viz.: 

"PiTTSFitLD  Apr.  20th  1818. 

"  BROTHER  JOHN,  Sir  yours  20th  Sept  1817 
was  duly  reed,  the  reason  I  did  not  write  sooner 
was  I  expected  to  have  been  able  to  pay  Hicock 
without  calling  upon  you  again  but  finding  it 
impossible  I  last  week  wrote  to  Isaac  to  know 
what  situation  that  Legacy  was  in  perhaps  you 
have  not  heard  that  he  had  sold  the  goods  to  a 
man  in  Boston  that  had  failed  this  he  wrote  me 
long  ago  and  I  thought  by  this  time  he  might 
know  something  more  about  it  but  he  writes  me 
now  that  he  has  not  rec'd  a  cent  nor  does  he  ex- 


ARTHUR    AND    JOHN    SCHOLFIELD.  35 

pect  he  ever  shall  but  I  don't  wish  you  to  distress 
yourself  on  my  act  tho  Ilicock  is  as  needy  and 
poor  as  any  of  us  his  family  has  been  sick  all 
Winter  I  was  in  hope  our  business  would  have 
been  a  little  better  by  this  time  I  have  had  a 
hard  rub  through  the  last  winter  but  am  in  hope 
of  doing  a  little  better  for  the  futer  if  we  have 
our  health — there  is  one  thing  I  want  to  acquaint 
you  with  and  have  your  opinion  and  advice  about 
— i  have  been  advised  by  my  friends  to  apply  to 
Congress  by  a  petition  as  we  were  the  first  that 
introduced  the  woolen  Business  by  Machinery 
in  this  country  and  should  that  plan  be  adopted 
I  have  but  little  hopes  of  success  but  they  say  if 
it  does  no  good  it  wont  doo  any  harm  but  at  any 
rate  I  should  like  your  opinion  and  advice  about 
it  the  thing  was  suggested  to  me  towards  the  last 
of  the  sessions,  so  that  I  had  not  time  to  write  you 
on  the  subject  and  to  do  it  on  my  own  account  I 
thought  it  would  not  be  doing  you  justice  as  we 
were  both  equaly  concerned,  although  I  am  per- 
sonally acquainted  with  the  member  from  this 
County  and  have  faith  to  believe  he  would  exert 
himself — Youl  think  of  the  thing  and  write  me 
and  accept  of  my  best  wishes  for  yourself  and 
family. 

"  ARTHUR  SCHOLFIELD." 


36  ARTHUR    AND    JOHN    SCHOLFIELD. 

John,  in  answer  to  this  letter,  wrote  to  his 
brother  that  he  did  not  think  the  plan  would 
succeed,  and  advised  him  to  give  it  up.  lie  also 
writes  that  his  own  business  affairs  are  in  a  bad 
condition,  owing  to  his  having  become  bondsman 
for  his  son  John,  who  had,  by  endorsing  for  other 
parties  become  involved  in  debt,  and  that  he  was 
in  very  feeble  health. 

To  which  Arthur  replied  as  follows,  viz.: 

"  BROTHER  JOHN  Yours  of  llth  Dec'r  is  rec'd 
— You  have  the  same  opinion  about  the  legacy 
that  I  have  (viz)  that  it  is  lost,  but  how  it  is  1 
dont  know — but  as  you  say  I  have  no  idea  of 
giving  a  receipt  till  I  receive  the  money.  I  sent 
you  an  exact  copy  of  what  Isaac  wrote  to  me, 
but  as  to  the  length  of  time  you  must  lay  that  to 
me,  for  he  wrote  to  me  in  the  time  of  it  and  re- 
quested me  to  inform  you  whether  I  did  or  not  I 
dont  know. 

"  With  regard  to  applying  to  Congress  I  have 
given  that  up  for  I  am  of  your  opinion  that  it 
wont  succeed  what  gave  me  some  hopes  I  was 
advis'd  to  it  by  a  member  of  the  Senet  who  is  a 
very  influential  man  in  Congress  but  he  is  now 
out  and  I  think  tis  best  to  drop  it  Your  state- 
ment of  your  circumstances  and  what  led  to  it  is 


HISTORICAL    RECORD.  37 

truly  distressing  but  I  hope  you  have  not  been 
so  foolish  as  I  was  to  become  obligated  for  more 
than  you  are  worth  which  was  the  case  with  me 
my  situation  as  it  respects  property  is  worse 
than  yours  but  thank  God  I  enjoy  my  health  as 
well  as  I  ever  did  which  I  am  sorry  to  hear  is 
not  the  case  with  you. 

"ARTHUR  SCHOLFIELD." 

Sylvester  Judd,  in  his  history  of  Hadley,  says: 
"  Carding-machines  which  were  built  in  many 
towns  after  1802,  relieved  women,  who  had  be- 
fore carded  by  hand.  One  was  erected  at  North 
Amherst  in  1803,  one  at  the  Lower  Mills,  in 
lladley,  in  1805,  and  one  in  North  Hadley  a  few 
years  later." 

In  "Lincoln's  History  of  Worcester,"  mention 
is  made  of  two  enterprises  :  Joshua  Hale,  who 
began  the  carding  of  wool  in  the  south  part  of 
the  town  in  1803,  and  Peter  and  Ebenezer  Stow- 
ell,  who  commenced  the  weaving  of  carpets  and 
plaids  in  October,  1804,  having  six  looms  of  their 
own  invention  and  construction  in  operation ; 
they  also  built  shearing  machines  for  wool. 

Mr.  Samuel  Bachelder  furnished  for  the  his- 
tory of  New  Ipswich,  N.  H.,  published  in  1852, 
a  sketch  of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  that  town  ; 


38  JAMES    SAUNDERSON. 

he  there  refers  to  James  Saunderson,  as  con- 
nected in  a  collateral  way  with  that  industry, 
and  also,  as  an  early  woolen  manufacturer  in 
that  town. 

James  Saunderson  came  from  a  manufactur- 
ing district  in  Scotland  to  this  country,  in  1794, 
and  to  New  Ipswich  in  1801,  where  he  soon 
afterward  put  in  operation  a  carding- machine  for 
carding  wool ;  this  was  the  first  carding- machine 
introduced  into  the  state.  The  woolen  cloth  of 
household  manufacture,  which  constituted  the 
principal  clothing  of  the  people,  was  imperfectly 
made  by  reason  of  the  primitive  mode  of  card- 
ing. The  advent  of  this  machine  created  much 
interest  in  this  region,  the  inhabitants  abandoned 
the  old  process,  and  wool  was  brought  from  the 
neighboring  towns  for  a  long  distance  to  be 
carded  in  this  improved  manner.  He  also  car- 
ried on  the  manufacture  of  woolens,  and  from 
18T2  to  1814  his  business  was  quite  extensive. 

Mr.  Saunderson  had  also  the  skill  (then  almost 
unknown  in  this  country)  of  dyeing  indigo  blue, 
by  the  same  process  as  is  now  practiced  in  our 
best  manufacturing  establishments. 

The  housewife  could  take  her  yarn  to  the 
dye-house  in  the  morning,  have  it  dyed  to  a 
beautiful  and  permanent  color,  ready  to  be  car- 


FIRST    FACTORY    IN    RHODE    ISLAND.  39 

ried  home  at  night ;  this  was  a  matter  of  no  in- 
considerable wonder. 

The  skill  of  Mr.  Saunderson  afterwards  proved 
to  be  of  importance  to  the  cotton  manufacture  of 
the  town  ;  in  the  production  of  colored  fabrics 
he  was  employed  to  dye  the  yarn,  and  was  sub- 
sequently employed  by  the  Hamilton  Manufac- 
turing Company  in  skein-dyeing,  soon  after  they 
commenced  business  at  Lowell. 

The  first  attempt  at  woolen  manufacture  in 
^JRhode  Island,  was  at  Peace  Dale,  by  Joseph  Cong- 
don  and  John  Warren  Knowles,  who  set  up  a 
carding  machine  in  1804,  and  soon  afterward  sold 
out  to  Rowland  Hazard.  This  machine  simply 
carded  the  wool  into  rolls  which  were  put  out  to 
be  spun  by  hand. 

About  1812,  Thomas  R.  Williams  invented  a 
power-loom  for  weaving  saddle  girths  and  other 
webbing,  and  probably  in  1813,  and  certainly  not 
later  than  1814,  these  looms  were  started  at 
Peace  Dale.  After  they  had  been  fully  tested, 
Rowland  Hazard  purchased  four  of  them  for 
$300  each,  and  in  1814  or  1815,  they  were  in 
successful  operation. 

The  operation  of  power-looms  at  Peace  Dale 
antedates  those  started  in  Judge  Lyman's  mill  at 
North  Providence,  in  18 17,  by  at  least  two  years, 


40  FIRST    POWER    LOOMS. 

and  it  is  most  probable  that  they  were  the  first 
power-looms  successfully  operated  in  America, 
unless  exception  be  made  in  favor  of  Francis  C. 
Lowell,  at  Waltham,  in  1814. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  James  Scholfield,  that  the 
first  application  of  water-power  in  this  country 
for  operating  the  spinning-jenny  was  by  Mr.  Haz- 
ard at  Peace  Dale.  Isaac  P.  Hazard  and  Row- 
land G.  Hazard,  sons  of  Rowland  Hazard,  took 
charge  of  this  business  in  1819,  and  they  with 
their  successors  in  the  family,  have  made  many 
additions  to  the  property,  until,  from  this  small 
beginning  it  has  grown  into  the  present  exten- 
sive establishment  of  the  Peace  Dale  Manufac- 
turing Company,  and  has  continued  in  the  own- 
ership of  the  family  for  nearly  eighty  years. 

The  late  Hon.  Zachariah  Allen  recently  pre- 
pared for  the  writer  an  interesting  sketch  of  the 
first  attempt  at  woolen  manufacture  in  this  city. 
After  speaking  of  the  home  manufacture  by  the 
hand-card  and  spinning-wheel,  so  universal  be- 
fore the  introduction  of  machinery,  Mr.  Allen 
says  : — 

"  The  declaration  of  war  with  England  in  June, 
1812,  with  a  preceding  embargo  and  non  inter- 
course act,  had  advanced  the  price  of  manufac- 
tured cloths  so  excessively  as  to  direct  public  at- 


EARLY    MANUFACTURE    IN    PROVIDENCE.          41 

tention  to  the  branches  of  industry,  of  both  cot- 
ton and  woolen  manufactures.  An  experienced 
manufacturer  came  to  Providence,  I  believe  from 
the  west  of  England,  and  induced  my  brother- 
IB  law,  Mr.  Sullivan  Dorr,  Samuel  G.  Arnold, 
Joseph  S.  Martin,  Daniel  Lyman,  and  E.  K.  Ran- 
dolph, to  form  a  company  for  the  manufacture 
of  broadcloths.  This  was  the  Providence  Wool- 
en Manufacturing  Co.  They  commenced  the 
erection  of  a  large  stone  mill  at  the  north  end  of 
Providence,  with  two  wings  and  a  dye-house.* 
A  high  pressure  steam  engine  and  cylindrical 
boilers  were  obtained  from  Oliver  Evans,  in  Phil- 
adelphia, being  the  first  steam  engine  for  manu- 
facturing purposes  used  in  "Rhode  Island,  as  I 
believe.  Apprehensions  of  the  capture  of  it  by 
British  vessels  induced  the  enterprising  owners 
to  arrange  for  the  redemption  of  it  by  a  liberal 
price,  but  it  arrived  safely. 

k4  The  cards  were  arranged  on  the  lower  floor  of 
the  centre  building,  the  hand-looms  in  the  wings 
and  the  spinning-jennies  of  forty  spindles  each 
on  the  upper  floors.  The  shearing  machines 
were  of  the  Mussy  pattern,  used  by  hand,  but 
were  arranged  by  the  ingenious  manager,  Mr. 
Sanford,  to  be  operated  by  steam-power,  with 

*This  mill  now  forms  a  part  of  the  Allen's  Print  Works. 


42          EARLY    MANUFACTURE    IN    PROVIDENCE. 

the  cloth  to  traverse  under  the  cutting-blades. 
A  napping  machine,  made  with  pointed  brass 
wires,  arranged  on  a  revolving  cylinder,  was  new- 
ly invented,  with  adjustable  parts  to  operate  safe- 
ly and  efficiently.  This  machine  and  the  fulling 
mills  were  placed  in  the  basement.  Mr.  Sanford 
had  a  skillful  dyer,  Mr.  Partridge,  from  the  west 
of  England,  who  was  able  to  operate  woad  vats 
for  blue  dyeing.  The  colors  he  produced  were 
highly  admired,  and  the  cloths  were  well  made, 
and  very  durable ;  but  the  quality  of  the  wool 
being  somewhat  coarse,  most  of  the  products 
were  not  of  fine  quality.  During  the  war  a 
quantity  of  Spanish  wool  was  captured  in  prizes, 
which  gave  them  a  finer  article  at  comparatively 
lower  prices,  and  proved  profitable  for  a  time. 
They  accumulated  a  large  amount  of  broadcloths 
and  refused  an  offer  of  eight  dollars  per  yard, 
with  the  expectation  of  a  further  advance.  But 
the  arrival  of  the  ship  Bramble  with  news  of  an 
armistice  signed  by  the  Commissioners  of  the 
United  States,  at  Ghent,  put  an  end  to  all  their 
hopes  in  the  further  manufacture  of  broadcloths. 
With  the  influx  of  foreign  cloths  of  superior 
quality,  the  stock  was  closed  out  at  a  loss  to  the 
company  of  about  $150,000,  and  the  mill  was 
closed. 


ZACHARIAH    ALLEN'S    MILL.  43 

"  After  the  lapse  of  a  few  years  the  buildings 
were  sold  for  a  'Print  Works,'  to  Philip  Allen, 
for  which  use  they  are  occupied  at  the  present 
day." 

In  1822,  Mr.  Zachariah  Allen  erected  a  mill 
at  Allendale,  North  Providence,  for  the  manu- 
facture of  broadcloths.  He  there  started  the 
first  power  loom  for  weaving  broadcloth  oper- 
ated in  this  state.  Mr.  Allen  pursued  the  wool- 
en business  until  1839,  using,  as  they  appeared, 
the  improved  condenser  for  the  carding  machine, 
the  improved  English  teazel  cylinder,  the  exten- 
sion roller  (his  invention,  and  first  applied  suc- 
cessfully at  this  mill),  and  other  improvements 
in  machinery.  The  first  introduction  of  steam 
rolling,  to  give  a  gloss  to  the  finished  cloth,  was 
at  Allendale.  In  1839,  Mr.  Allen  sold  the  wool- 
en machinery,  and  filled  the  mill  with  cotton  ma- 
chinery; it  is  still  operated  as  a  cotton  mill  by  a 
member  of  his  family. 

Captain  Abner  Stearns,  in  1805,  purchased  a 
water-privilege  in  West  Cambridge,  Mass.,  and 
erected  a  large  building  for  the  purpose  of  card- 
ing wool  into  rolls  for  hand- spinning  in  the  fam- 
ilies of  the  farmers.  The  whole  of  the  second 
story  was  devoted  to  carding-machiues  and  pick- 
ers. As  there  was  no  other  carding  factory  in 


44     .  CAPTAIN    ABNER    STEARNS. 

that  section  it  was  a  great  convenience  to  the 
farmers,  who  brought  their  wool  for  many  miles 
around  to  be  carded  into  rolls  for  spinning,  and 
batting  for  hatters'  use.  He  charged  ten  cents 
per  pound  for  carding,  and  did  a  thriving  busi- 
ness, often  running  the  machines  both  day  and 
night.  In  1812,  he  erected  another  large  build- 
ing near  his  carding  factory,  where,  with  other 
machinery,  he  had  a  fulling  mill  and  a  spinning- 
jenny  of  seventy-two  spindles ;  the  yarn  was 
taken  elsewhere  to  be  woven  into  broadcloth  and 
then  returned  to  the  factory  to  be  finished.  Dur- 
ing the  war  of  1812  he  had  a  good  business,  but 
the  peace  of  1815,  with  the  influx  of  British 
goods  at  low  duties,  rendered  it  so  unprofitable 
that  he  sold  out  to  James  Schouler,  a  calico 
printer,  of  Lynn.  These  buildings  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  July  27th,  1875.  Capt.  Stearns 
was  an  ingenious  mechanic,  and  an  upright,  en- 
terprising citizen;  upon  selling  out  his  manufact- 
uring property,  in  1816,  he  removed  to  his  old 
homestead  in  Billerica,  where  he  died  in  1838. 

In  Hill's  History  of  Mason  Village,  N.  II  , 
mention  is  made  of  an  enterprise  started  by  John 
Everett,  and  of  his  having  erected  a  carding  and 
fulling  mill  soon  after  1800  ;  there  is  no  confir- 
mation of  this  early  date  from  any  other  source. 


HISTORICAL    RECORD.  45 

Mr.  Bachelder  places  the  date  as  1810,  when 
Mr.  Everett  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
woolens ;  he  erected  a  mill  on  the  south  branch 
of  the  Souhegan  river.  His  first  business  was 
the  fulling  and  dressing  of  woolen  cloth  that 
had  been  spun  and  woven  in  families ;  he  after- 
wards manufactured  satinet.  In  1815,  he  paid 
twelve  cents  per  yard  for  weaving. 

According  to  Potter's  History  of  Manchester, 
N.  H.,  a  project  was  started  in  1809  and  con- 
summated in  1810,  for  the  manufacture  of  cot- 
ton and  wool  at  Amoskeag  Falls,  in  Goffstown, 
N.  H.  The  company  was  incorporated  June 
15,  1810,  under  the  name  of  the  "Amoskeag 
Cotton  and  Woolen  Manufacturing  Company." 
There  is  no  evidence  that  the  manufacture  of 
woolens  was  entered  upon;  it  was  an  unprofita- 
ble enterprise.  The  ownership  changed  several 
times ;  ultimately  falling  into  strong  hands,  it 
formed  the  basis  for  one  of  the  wealthiest  man- 
ufacturing corporations  in  the  country  —  the 
Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Company,  Manches- 
ter, N.  H. 

The  associations  of  the  writer  during  his  ear- 
ly life  with  the  society  and  business  of  the  town 
of  Uxbridge,  Mass.,  may  excuse  the  somewhat 
lengthy  history  of  woolen  manufacture  in  that 


46  THE    MANUFACTURE    IN    UXBRIDGE. 

town.  Daniel  Day,  Joseph  Day,  and  Jerry  Whee- 
lock,  under  the  firm  of  Daniel  Day  and  Compa- 
ny, built  their  first  mill  in  1810.  Its  size  was 
twenty  by  forty  feet,  two  stories,  containing  a 
carding-machine  and  picker,  for  the  purpose  of 
carding  rolls  for  home  manufacture.  In  the 
spring  of  1811  they  built  an  addition  to  the  mill 
of  twenty-five  by  thirty  feet,  three  stories  high, 
and  in  July  put  in  a  billy  and  jenny  for  spin- 
ning. In  September  they  added  a  hand-loom ; 
early  in  181 '2  they  put  in  another  loom,  and  dur- 
ing the  year  added  three  more,  making  five  looms 
in  all.  The  picker  (the  mechanism  used  by  the 
weaver  to  throw  the  shuttle)  was  the  same  as  in 
use  at  the  present  time.  It  \vas  operated  by  a 
picker-string  attached  to  the  picker-stick  held  in 
the  hand,  while  the  harnesses  were  operated  by 
the  feet  of  the  weaver. 

The  first  weavers  employed  by  Mr.  Day  were 
English.  Desiring  to  get  more  reliable  persons, 
he  applied  to  Orsmus  Taft  (then  a  young  man, 
who  was  desirous  of  leaving  the  farm  and  of 
learning  the  manufacturing  business,)  to  go  into 
his  mill  to  weave.  He  accepted  the  offer,  at 
what  was  considered  by  some  of  his  friends  and 
the  Englishmen,  rather  low  wages.  But  he 
thought,  "  let  those  laugh  who  win,"  and  in 


THE    MANUFACTURE    IN    UXBRIDGE.  47 

about  a  year  he  had  charge  of  the  weaving ;  now 
Yankees  generally  took  the  place  of  the  Eng- 
lish. He  always  supposed  that  he  was  the  first 
American,  to  weave  satinet  in  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Charles  A.  Wheelock,  of  Uxbridge,  in  an 
appendix  to  the  address  of  Hon.  Henry  Chapin, 
delivered  at  Uxbridge  in  1864,  and  published  in 
1881,  gives  an  interesting  history  of  the  manu- 
facturing business  of  that  town,  in  which  he  re- 
fers to  this  enterprise  of  Messrs.  Daniel  Day  & 
Co.,  arid  says : 

"  Some  three  years  since,  in  looking  over  some 
old  papers  of  my  father's,  which  came  into  my 
hands  on  the  decease  of  my  mother,  I  found  a 
receipt,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy : 

"  '  UXBRIDGE,  August  27th,  1811. 
"  '  Rec'd  of  Jerry  Wheelock  seventy-five  dol- 
lars in  part  payment  for  the  picking  and  carding- 
machine  I  have  lately  built  and  put  in  operation 
in  the  shop  of  Mr.  Daniel  Day,  in  Uxbridge. 

ARTEMUS  DRYDEN,  JR.' 

Here  we  have  a  glimpse  of  the  beginning 
of  the  woolen  manufacture  in  Uxbridge,  and,  as 
I  believe,  of  the  first  woolen  carding-machine 
and  picker  built  in  Worcester  county." 

Mr.  Dry  den  lived  in  the  town  of  Worcester, 


48  THE    MANUFACTURE    IN    UXB RIDGE. 

and  from  this  early  period  to  the  present  time, 
this  has  been  one  of  the  most  important  centres 
in  the  country  for  the  manufacture  of  woolen 
machinery. 

The  introduction  of  cotton  manufacture  into 
this  town  was  coeval  with  that  of  woolen,  in 
1810.  The  first  movement  was  made  at  North 
Uxbridge,  familiarly  known  as  ;t  Rogerson's," 
now  the  Uxbridge  Cotton  Mills.  The  billy  and 
spinning-jenny  were  made  by  Arthur  Scholfield, 
of  Pittsfield,  Mass. 

The  second  attempt  at  woolen  manufacture 
in  Uxbridge  was  so  characteristic  of  the  time, 
when  the  country  people  of  New  England  espec- 
ially were  ambitious  for  other  occupations  than 
farming,  shoemaking  and  tavern  keeping,  and 
ready  to  cooperate  in  the  then  new  and  fascinat- 
ing business  of  manufacturing,  that  Mr.  Whee- 
lock's  history  of  this  enterprise  is  given  with 
considerable  detail,  viz.: 

"  The  next  attempt  at  woolen  manufacturing 
was  made  by  the  Rivulet  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, which  was  incorporated  in  1816,  although 
the  company  was  formed  and  buildings  erected 
in  1814,  and  the  business  of  manufacturing  was 
begun  in  the  winter  of  1814  and  '15.  The  cap- 
ital paid  in  was  $14,000  ;  the  shares  were  $500, 


THE    MANUFACTURE    IN    UXBRIDGE.  49 

each.  It  was  agreed  that  no  dividend  should 
be  paid  until  the  expiration  of  eight  years,  a 
wise  provision  to  make  in  this  instance.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  no  dividend  was  ever  paid;  and 
when  the  business  was  closed  up,  the  stockhold- 
ers received  little,  if  any,  more  than  half  the 
amount  paid  in,  and  without  interest. 

"  The  original  members  of  the  company  were, 
Daniel  Carpenter, Samuel  Read,  Ephraim  Spring, 
Alpheus  Baylies,  John  Capron,  Jerry  Wheelock, 
Samuel  Judson,  Joseph  11.  Perry,  Thomas  Far- 
num,  and  Ezband  Newell.  The  two  last  named 
persons,  I  think,  soon  surrendered  their  shares 
to  the  other  members  of  the  company.  Daniel 
Carpenter  was  a  merchant,  and  had  been  en- 
gaged in  trade  outside  of  an  ordinary  country 
merchant's  trade,  which  well  fitted  him  for  the 
position  he  was  now  to  assume — that  of  agent. 
Samuel  Read  was  a  farmer,  hotel  keeper,  and 
owner  of  the  privilege  on  which  the  mill  was 
to  be  built.  Ephraim  Spring  was  also  a  farmer, 
and  owner  of  reat  estate  available  for  business 
purposes,  besides  having  a  son  desirous  of  be- 
coming a  manufacturer  in  some  of  its  branches. 
Alpheus  Baylies  was  a  farmer  with  sons  who 
wished  to  become  manufacturers.  John  Capron 
was  a  clothier  by  trade,  cloth  finisher  and  dyer, 


50  THE    MANUFACTURE    IN    UXBRIDGE. 

whose  proposition  to  the  company  will  appear 
by-and-by.  Jerry  Wheelock  was  a  mechanic, 
and  one  of  the  original  Daniel  Day  Company, 
and  well  acquainted  with  the  construction  and 
operation  of  machinery,  and  with  the  manage- 
ment of  stock,  which  \vould  fit  him  for  the  place 
of  superintendent.  Rev.  Samuel  Judson,  the 
Congregationalist  minister,  was,  so  far  as  I  know, 
the  only  man  who  might  be  considered  a  capi- 
talist. He  joined  the  company  for  the  sake  of 
the  profits  from  the  investment,  and  a  poor  in- 
vestment it  proved.  Joseph  H.  Perry  was  a 
young  man  who  came  from  Dudley,  Mass.,  and 
had  money  enough  to  take  a  share  in  the  com- 
pany and  have  an  opportunity  to  learn  a  trade. 
These  men  were  all  of  moderate  means,  of  ster- 
ling integrity,  and  good  business  qualifications 
and  intelligence. 

"  Surely  such  men  were,  and  are  now,  the  very 
men  and  the  only  men  fit  to  try  the  the  cooper- 
ative principle  in  business.  This  was  a  cooper- 
ative association  ;  nothing  more,  nothing  less. 

"  John  Capron  came  to  Uxbridge  near  the 
close  of  the  last  century.  The  first  mention  of 
his  name  that  I  have  noticed  on  the  town  books, 
is  as  one  of  the  committee  to  superintend  the 
building  of  the  school-houses  in  1797.  He  had 


THE    MANUFACTURE    IN    UXBRIDGE.  51 

acquired  the  trade  of  a  custom  clothier  at  the 
Cargill  mill,  in  Pomfret,  Conn.  He  purchased 
the  Col.  Read  estate  and  water-power,  and  set 
up  the  business  of  finishing  the  cloth  woven  in 
families  in  this  vicinity.  This  will  account  for 
the  following  proposition  : — 

"'At  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Rivulet 
Manufacturing  Company,  holden  January  2d, 
1815,  at  Capt.  Samuel  Read's,  I  made  the  fol- 
lowing proposition  to  the  meeting,  in  order  to 
join  said  company,  viz. :  that  1  would  take 
shares  to  the  amount  of  $1,000,  $1,500,  $2,000, 
or  $2,500,  and  give  my  note  to  the  company, 
on  interest ;  then  to  do  the  dyeing  of  all  the 
wool  and  the  dressing  of  all  the  cloth  for  the 
company,  at  the  common  price  of  doing  the 
same,  till  I  had  paid  for  as  many  shares  as 
they  should  choose  I  should  take  with  them, 
and  that  all  charges  for  the  same  should  be  en- 
dorsed on  my  note  at  the  end  of  every  ninety 
days  from  the  beginning  till  the  whole  be  paid ; 
that  I  should  then  be  entitled  to  the  same  value 
of  dyeing  and  dressing  cloth  for  which  said  com- 
pany are  to  pay  me  at  the  end  of  every  ninety 
days  ;  that  is  to  say,  that  I  shall  do  or  cause  to 
be  dene,  in  manner  as  above  stated,  work  to  the 
value  of  $5,000,  in  the  whole. 


52  THE    MANUFACTURE    TN    UXBRIDGE. 

"  'Then  it  was  voted  unanimously  that  I  should 
take  five  shares,  being  the  highest  sum  I  had 
proposed,  and  in  every  respect  agreeable  to  the 
foregoing  proposition. 

"' JOHN   CATRON. 

"'Uxbridge,  March  24th,  1815.' 

"  It  is,  therefore,  easy  to  be  seen  why  John 
Capron  became  a  cooperator  in  this  company. 

"  Artemas  Dryden,  Jr.,  made  the  carding- 
machine  and  picker  for  the  company  ;  and  John 
and  George  Carpenter,  of  this  town,  built  the  bil- 
lies and  jennies  ;  the  first  machinery  built  in  this 
town,  unless  they  had  previously  built  a  jenny  for 
Daniel  Day. 

"The  weaving  was  all  done  by  hand-looms, 
and  the  goods  were  chiefly  satinets,  although 
some  broadcloths  and  cassimeres  were  made. 

"  On-  the  expiration  of  the  contract  with  John 
Capron,  the  Rivulet  Company  put  in  finishing 
machinery,  and,  among  other  things,  a  shearing- 
machine  with  a  revolving  blade,  or  cutter,  to  be 
driven  by  power,  then  a  recent  invention  by 
William  llovey,  of  Worcester." 

As  an  instance  of  the  prices  paid  for  finish- 
ing woolen  cloth,  Mr.  Wheelock  gives  a  bill  of 
Benjamin  Cragin,  of  Douglas,  against  Daniel 


THE    MANUFACTURE    IN    UXBRIDGE.  53 

Day  and   Company,   of  September   23d,   1813, 
viz. : — 

"  For  Dressing  24  yds.  wool  cloth 

N.  Blue,  at  25-100,       .     .     .     $6.00 
For  Fulling  and  Dressing  17£ 

yds.  Satinet,  at  20-100,      .     .       3.40 

$9.40" 

About  the  entire  cost  of  manufacture  for 
three-quarter  yard  wide  goods,  during  the  last 
twenty  years. 

The  other  mills  erected  in  this  town  previous 
to  1830,  will  be  briefly  alluded  to.  That  of 
John  Capron  and  Sons  was  built  in  1820,  or 
1821  ;  the  Luke  Taft  mill,  now  Wheelock's,  in 
1825  ;  and  that  of  the  Uxbridge  Woolen  Man- 
ufacturing Company,  in  the  same  year.  This 
was  an  incorporated  company.  The  original 
members  of  the  company  were  Amariah  Chapin, 
Royal  Chapin,  Dr.  George  Willard,  John  and 
Orsmus  Taft.  These  men  were  all  relatives, 
and  owners  of  the  land  on  which  the  mill  and 
other  necessary  buildings,  and  tenements  for  the 
employes,  would  stand,  and  of  the  most  of  the 
land  through  which  the  canal  leading  to  the 
mill  would  pass.  The  Messrs.  Chapin  were 
merchants  and  active  business  men,  father  and 


54  SAMUEL    SLATER. 

son.  The  Messrs.  Taft  were  brothers,  both  of 
them  were  manufacturers,  and  had  been  more  or 
less  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  woolen  goods 
for  several  years. 

In  1815,  Samuel  Slater  (the  father  of  cotton 
manufacture  in  the  United  States),  in  connection 
with  Edward  Howard,  started  a  small  woolen  mill 
in  the  East  Village,  Webster,  Mass.,  for  manu- 
facturing broadcloths  and  other  woolens.  This 
mill  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1820,  when  the 
purchase  of  a  privilege  was  made  at  the  South 
Village  where  the  business  was  continued,  form- 
ing a  nucleus  for  the  large  establishment  of  the 
Slater  \Voolen  Company. 

It  has  been  stated  that  this  was  the  first  at- 
tempt to  manufacture  American  broadcloths. 
From  what  has  preceded  it  is  shown  that  this 
was  not  the  first.  A  number  of  mills  had  made 
a  previous  attempt  to  manufacture  broadcloth, 
and  had  succeeded ;  this  is  the  only  concern 
which  has  continuously  made  them,  now  for  a 
period  of  more  than  sixty  years. 

Ezek  Pitts  commenced  making  woolen  cloth 
in  1812,  at  the  village  of  Millville,  in  the  then 
town  of  Mendon,  Mass.;  his  carding  and  spin- 
ning were  done  in  an  old  building,  awaiting  the 
completion  of  his  mill,  which  was  in  1814,  and 


GROWTH    OF    MANUFACTURES.  55 

believed  to  be  the  first  woolen  mill  on  the  Black- 
stone  river. 

The  growth  of  woolen  manufacture  was  very 
slow  during  the  first  decade  of  this  century;  the 
limited  supply  of  domestic  wool  doubtless  had 
its  effect  in  repressing  this  industry.  The  growth 
of  wool  was  everywhere  encouraged,  but  in  1810 
the  annual  production  had  only  reached  14,000.- 
000  pounds. 

From  1809  to  1815,  woolen  mills  multiplied 
rapidly  throughout  New  England  and  the  Mid- 
dle States;  at  Oriskany,  N.  Y.,  in  1809  ;  at  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.,  Pittsfield,  Northampton,  Watertown, 
Uxbridge,  and  other  places  in  Massachusetts, 
from  1809  to  1812,  and  at  Providence,  R,  L,  in 
the  latter  year.  The  State  of  New  York  granted 
no  less  than  twelve  charters  for  woolen  factories 
during  this  year.  The  largest  manufacturing 
establishment  for  fine  woolens  at  this  time  in 
New  England  was  the  Middletown  Woolen  Man- 
ufacturing Company,  at  Middletown,  Conn. 

The  manufactured  product  showed  a  corre- 
sponding increase,  in  1810  the  annual  production 
had  only  reached  the  value  of  $4,000,000.  But 
the  war  of  1812  gave  this  industry  the  great  ad- 
vantage of  our  own  market,  freed  from  the  com- 
petiton  of  England,  so  that  in  1815  the  annual 
c 


56  ARTHUR    AND    JOHN    SCHOLFIELD. 

production  had  reached  a  value  of  $19,000,000;* 
and  when  we  consider  that  previous  to  1793,  not 
a  woolen  mill  bordered  the  banks  of  our  rivers, 
not  a  yard  of  goods  was  made  except  those  pro- 
duced by  the  family  from  the  hand-card  and  the 
spinning-wheel,  we  can  but  look  with  surprise 
upon  the  progress  which  this  new  branch  of  in- 
dustry had  made  in  this  country  to  that  time. 

This  investigation  shows  that  John  Manning 
had  land  granted  him  by  the  town  of  Ipswich, 
Mass.,  in  1792,  upon  which  to  build  a  woolen 
factory,  which  grant  was  subsequently  confirmed 
to  him  in  1795,  when  the  factory  had  been 
erected. 

The  work  done  here  was  all  performed  by 
hand,  being  no  advance  upon  the  method  previ- 
ously pursued. 

This  enterprise  is  presented  as  a  representative 
of  several  others,  all  earlier  than  the  establish- 
ment at  B}  field,  and  all  using  the  more  primitive 
mode  of  manufacture  before  the  introduction  of 
the  carding-machine. 

It  also  shows  that  Arthur  and  John  Scholfield 
came  from  England  in  March,  1793,  with  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  process  of  manufacturing  woolen 
cloths,  as  pursued  there ;  that  they  did  during 

*  The  Fleece  and  the  Loom.    John  L.  Hayes,  LL.  D. 


ARTHUR    AND   JOHN    SCHOLFIELD.  57 

that  and  the  following  year  erect  and  put  into 
operation  wool  carding-machines  at  Bytield, 
Mass.,  which  were  the  first  erected  ;  thus  intro- 
ducing the  woolen  manufacture  into  this  coun- 
try ;  that  in  1  798-9,  they  built  a  factory  at  Mont- 
ville,  Conn.,  and  furnished  that  with  the  improved 
machinery;  also, that  in  1801,  Arthur  Scholfield 
left  his  brother  John,  and  removed  to  Pittsfield, 
Mass.,  where  he  erected  the  first  carding-machine 
introduced  to  that  section  of  the  country,  and 
followed  the  business  of  manufacturing  woolen 
goods  with  such  success  that  in  1804  his  broad- 
cloths, consigned  to  the  New  York  market  were 
sold  in  successful  competition  with  the  imported 
article;  while  in  1808,  he  had  made  such  sub- 
stantial progress  as  to  be  able  to  make  and  furnish 
the  President  of  the  United  States  with  fine 
American  black  broadcloth,  for  an  inaugural  suit, 
this  being  the  first  (and  perhaps  the  last)  time 
that  a  President  of  the  United  States  has  been 
inaugurated  in  a  suit  made  from  cloth  of  home 
manufacture;  and  also,  § that  John  Scholfield 
engaged  in  his  third  enterprise  in  1806,  at  Paw- 
catuck  Bridge,  in  Stonington. 

Of  the  six  manufacturing  enterprises  with 
which  they  were  connected,  four  were  earlier  ; 
the  first,  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  previous  to  that 


58  ARTHUR    AND    JOHN    SCHOLFIELD. 

of  Dr.  Seth  Capron,  at  Oriskany,  N.  Y.,  in  1809; 
referred  to  by  Hon  J.  G.  Dudley,  in  his  paper 
read  before  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  as 
being  "  the  first  woolen  factory  built  in  the  United 
States." 

Other  factories  were  built  soon  after  1800; 
that  of  James  Sanderson,  at  New  Ipswich,  N. 
H.,  and  at  Amherst,  Iladley,  Worcester.  West 
Cambridge,  and  other  towns  in  Massachusetts 
and  in  Connecticut. 

The  carding-machines  erected  at  this  period 
in  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  and  Connec- 
ticut had  their  origin  in  the  enterprise  and  skill 
exhibited  by  Arthur  and  John  Scholfield,  by  their 
introduction  and  successful  operation  of  this  im- 
proved machinery  for  perfecting  the  process  of 
manufacturing  woolen  goods;  to  them  should  be 
awarded  the  credit  due  to  pioneers  of  this  indus- 
try, and  also  due  to  them,  as  being  the  first  suc- 
cessful woolen  manufacturers  in  the  United 
States. 


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